Burned
by BullRunPicnicker
Summary: When Danny Phantom gets burned while rescuing people from a flaming building, Maddie is the only one there to help him. No PP. Complete enough.
1. Chapter 1

My first fanfiction. Judge harshly. Incomplete sentence.

Maddie stared vacantly at the television. Her husband was off at a convention. _Something about fudge… _Her daughter was at a prospective college. _Jazz's eyes gleamed. "Mom, guess what? This one didn't roll their eyes when I mentioned ghosts!" _Danny was at some sort of retreat with Tucker. He was going through a phase that made him suspicious of everyone, except his friends. _Maybe he'll be interested in our new inventions after this 'tech resort.' _

She sighed dully. The news was on, but it held no interest to her. After the local news stations began showing the ghost boy as a hero, Maddie took nothing it said as fact. _Imagine, a ghost as a hero! _

The phone rang, waking Maddie out of her reverie. "What?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No," she was quizzical. _Why is Dr. Williams calling me? _Dr. Williams was the town's main doctor, and who was now well versed in treating and diagnosing ectoplasmic burns, falling debris and paranormal paranoia.

She turned to the television. A small Chinese lady was speaking dedicately about something in front of a pile of burning rubble. Maddie turned up the volume.

"-a tragedy has been avoided by the care of our local hero, Danny Phantom. He single-handedly saved at least seven lives. This morning, an Amity Park apartment building on Maple Street caught on fire, trapping thirty four people inside. By the time the firefighters arrived, Phantom had already rescued at least a dozen people. Working with the firefighters, Danny continued to save not only the lives of those trapped, but of some of the firefighters, when the floor collapsed. Many skeptics have pointed out that Phantom could have been the one to start the fire in the first place, but the source of this flame was a ectogun overheating when left on while its operator was away. Several victims of the fire have burns, and are being treated at the Amity Park General Hospital."

Maddie returned to the phone. "Why are you calling me?"

She heard a deep sigh on the other end of the phone. "Well, Phantom got burns, too. Do you know how to treat ghost wounds?"


	2. Chapter 2

I am now deeply suspicious of fanfiction. In a couple of hours, I have gotten more views for one story than for my three stories on fictionpress. I'm watching you, AliceElizabeth1, AnneriaWings, ghostgal4, Kigyptnee, TwiLyght Sans Sparkles, Squirrel holding a bazooka, JuneLuxray, Kitty Ghost., and many, many others. Seriously, get a life. I'm not _that_ amazing.

"No." Maddie was resolute. Nothing was going to make her help that ghost.

"What if we let you take ecto samples after you help him?" Dr. Williams was a horrible negotiator. By now, he had bargained money, the key to the city, and free checkups. He knew Maddie was the only one able to help. "Please, he just needs a quick patchup."

"Why don't you do it; you're a doctor!" She was also quite aggravated. Phantom had obviously started the fire to satisfy his need for destruction, then saved the people to satisfy his need for attention.

"We don't know what to do! What if we try to use antibiotics on him and he burns worse? What if we bandage him and he floats right through?" Maddie snorted. The mental image of Dr. Williams applying bandages to an intangible ghost was an amusing concept. "Please, Maddie. We want to help, but we need yours."

She smiled. Williams was a family friend, and he was usually pretty conservative on ghosts. She might as well humor him.

"Fine. I'll be there in a bit." On the other end of the phone, Williams sighed and thanked her. Maddie rolled her eyes. Well, lets get this over with.

"You can't take that into a hospital," an annoyed receptionist greeted Maddie as severely as she could muster. Maddie was in her jumpsuit, cradling a bazooka and carrying one small ectogun.

"Can I speak with Dr. Williams?" Maddie was impatient. The receptionist got a microphone and drawled out, "Doctor Williams, to the front desk. Doctor Williams, to the front desk. Maddie Fenton is here to see you." She looked at her for a moment, then returned to her computer. Soon, the doctor arrived.

"Ah, it's good to see you." He motioned her to walk with him, and they started off down the corridor. "How's the family?"

"Good. I'm here, so what do you want me to do?"

"First off, give the bazooka to one of the interns; you are here to help him, not destroy him!" Maddie sighed and handed the large firearm to a mildly confused nurse.

"Where is he?" Maddie was now bothered. The receptionist was rude to her, and now she only had one weapon.

"Over here."

They arrived at an nondescript room. She read the name on the door. _Patricia Clay_. Maddie stared at Williams. He shrugged.

"Phantom doesn't think he needs a room. In fact, he's just visiting some of the people in that building he rescued this morning."

She slowly pushed open the door. Her first view was of a young girl asleep in a hospital bed, her face and shoulder covered in burns. Maddie shuddered to think what would have happened if her children had been inside that building. She stepped a little more into the dimly lit room. With a quick glance, Maddie acquired the knowledge that she had already suspected.

Phantom was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

The room was deathly still. The only sound was of Patricia's quiet breathing. Williams turned to Maddie.

"Well, he was here."

She nodded silently, not believing him. There was no way a bag of scum like a ghost would stay in one location for so long without terrorizing someone. Behind her, soft footsteps padded to the threshold.

"Hello?"

Maddie whirled around, her remaining ectogun trained on the intruder. Danny Phantom visibly paled at the sight, but remained where he was. His jumpsuit was torn off at the arm, and in his hand was a single flower. Their eyes were trained on one another, like a deer surprising a wolf.

Williams coughed, breaking the suspense. Danny strode forward, past Maddie, to the hospital bed. He placed the flower in a vase by the girl's bed and turned around. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Hey, she needs her rest. We should get out." He walked out into the hallway.

Maddie stared in disbelief at Williams. She was within a couple inches of an unrestrained, nonviolent ghost, and her heart wouldn't stop racing. He nodded to her and went to the hallway. She hesitated, and then stepped out after him, closing the door behind her.

They made quite a sight in the hallway. Maddie was staring at Danny, waiting for him to turn on them and destroy the hospital, Danny wasn't making eye contact with her, and Dr. Williams was trying to gently push them down the hallway to an another room. The looks of confusion drawn for their parade down the hall would have made Danny laugh, but he was too concerned with Maddie. Why was she here? Was Doctor Williams giving him over to research? If so, why did she have only one gun? His head buzzed with unsavory possibilities.

Maddie was also concerned by the other. He showed no signs of aggression, ghostly or otherwise. In fact, he seemed to be embarrassed or concerned, human emotions. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, and he cringed. Was he really that afraid of her?

The doctor pitied Danny profusely. He had seen what Maddie did to ghosts she had no grudge against, and was worried she thought 'helping' him would be vivisecting him.

Soon, the trio was herded into an empty hospital room. Danny wrinkled his nose at the smell of disinfectant. He wasn't as afraid of hospitals as Tucker, but his friend still had rubbed off on him.

Maddie, on the other hand, quickly assessed the escape routes if her foe became aggressive. The room had a small air vent above a sink cabinet combination, the door they came through, and a huge window that took up the entire outer wall. The vent was out of her reach, and the window didn't seem to open readily. So, one escape route. Williams closed the door behind them. No escape routes.

Williams sat down in a comfortable armchair, motioning the two into a chair and the bed. They watched each other carefully, deliberately not wanting to be the first to sit. Danny sat first on the bed, then, with hesitation, Maddie on the chair. Williams decided to break the all encompassing silence first.

"Show her." He said to Danny.

"I'm fine," Danny halfheartedly argued before holding out his right arm to Maddie. Had he have been anything but her rival, Maddie would have gasped at the young ghost's burns. From his forearm to his shoulder, the jumpsuit had been burned away, revealing greenly bleeding burns.

Maddie, eyes blazing, turned to Williams. "How long has it been like this? Where did it come from?" He smiled mischievously.

"Why don't you ask him?"

She once again made eye contact with Phantom, but her eyes were less vehement anger and more sympathy.

"Explain." His eyes shifted away. "Now."

"Well, I was, you know, flying around-" She quickly cut him off.

"What? You were just flying around?" He cringed.

"You know, looking for ghosts." Her brow furrowed. "I wasn't hurting anybody!" he exclaimed. "I was just trying to head off some ghost attacks, you know, so no one gets hurt…" Once again, Danny's gaze wandered away.

Maddie's eyes softened. Maybe she needed to act less condescending in order to get his trust. "Please, calm down. I just need to know how you got hurt." He brightened quickly and resumed his story.

"You see, I was looking for another person on the fourth floor, and I had five people following me, so I was watching them. Well, I saw an ectogun about to explode from the pressure, so I put a shield around the people. Then, the burning ectoplasm got all over my arm." Maddie nodded. An ectogun would explode under extreme heat, and the ectoplasm inside one would definitely burn a ghost like this.

"How long ago?"

"This morning, about seven." She nodded. Several hours, just as she had suspected. Briskly, she wiped her hands and turned to an astonished Williams.

"It wasn't too severe; it will heal naturally. I want you to bring me those ghost proof bandages that I gave you last week." He smiled and scampered out. Danny gave her a confused look.

"Ghost proof?" She nodded briskly.

"Yeah, so you won't float out of it." They both laughed at the joke. Danny, sensing an opportunity, swallowed and asked a question.

"Hey, can I make a phone call?"


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I love them! Also, because I have sort of forgotten how the last chapter ended (and I'm too lazy to check), I'm starting this chapter in a different setting. Hurrah for variety! Now, without further ado, (and stalling,) chapter 4.

Sam tapped her fingers against the table. Her parents had sent her to a retreat for 'young upscale ladies,' so now she was bored out of her mind. She had endured seminars about how to 'not attract _that_ kind of husband,' and how to improve her posture until she looked like a Victorian aristocrat, and now she wasn't sure if this two week long retreat would ever end.

Her mind wandered back to Amity Park. Danny had decided that he needed to stay at Amity and fend off ghosts without having to worry about his cover, so Tucker came up with an ingenious plan. He would invite Danny out of town to his tech retreat, and he would sneak back as a ghost and stay in Amity. The trio also agreed that Jazz would freak out if she found out that Danny was fighting without backup, so they concurred not to tell her.

Sam smiled. That was just like him, when he had the choice between hanging out with his friends and fighting ghosts he would choose the most responsible option.

The cell phone in her pocket vibrated. Sam excused herself to the bathroom to take the call. She checked for witnesses and opened the phone.

"Sam?" she smiled slightly. What would Danny want at this time in the morning?

"Hey." He immediately started gushing the whole story.

"There was a building and it was on fire and I went inside and saved the people, but I got burned and now my mom is checking me _as Phantom_ and I-" she cut off his run-on sentenence.

"Wait, what? You did what now?" He took a deep breath.

"I got burned as Phantom, so the hospital called mom, and now she is checking it out."

"How bad is it?"

"Not bad. It's almost gone." She sighed.

"Is your mom, you know, going to kill you?" Sam was careful not to use the phrase 'rip you molecule by molecule' around Danny when he was freaking out.

"I don't know! Sometimes she seems like she is about to destroy me, but other times she seems like she just wants to help." She tilted her head to the side. _That's weird_, she thought, _usually his parents are pretty one dimensional about ghosts. _

"Are all people in the building okay?"

She could almost hear the smile in his voice. "It took you a while to ask about them. Yeah, a couple burns, but everyone will be out of the hospital by tomorrow…" Suddenly, he was silent.

"Except?" Sam's voice was gentle. He sniffed.

"Well, this one girl, Patricia Clay, she… she already had some sort of lung problem, and the smoke…" His voice conveyed his inner guilt and responsibility for everyone he came in contact with. "She- she won't be going home for a while. She has bronchitis, and the smoke was… was pretty bad." He was silent for a moment. "Oh crap! Uhh, I'll talk to you later! Bye!" The phone clicked off. Sam smiled. He was going to be alright.

Danny spun around, right into Maddie. His eyes widened, like a child caught with the cookie jar.

"So," Maddie smirked, "who were you calling?"

Sorry for the short chapter, but I need to get going. (How vague. Good job Bull, you seem not mysterious, but busy. Try harder next time!)


	5. Chapter 5

Wow, I just realized that I had this one written, but not uploaded.

"Nu-no one." Maddie smirked and walked away. Danny's mind burned with questions. _What did she hear? What is she thinking? Why is she smiling like that? _

Maddie walked away briskly, outwardly calm, but inwardly churning with thoughts. _Why is the ghost boy so worried? Who was he calling? Why was he so concerned with that girl he gave a flower to?_

Maddie suddenly recalled something Jazz had shown her. _"Mom, look at this!" Jazz pressed a book into Maddie's hands. "Check out the quote by Sir Francis Bacon." _She could still remember the quote, and it pained her now. 'If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.' What if everything she knew about ghost was wrong? What if this Phantom had real emotions, and felt sorry about hurting that girl? Maddie still didn't believe that he had been telling the truth, but she was certain that Phantom's powers were gone for some reason. Why else would he not be flying away? Even if he was experiencing emotions, why would a rational being ever stay in the presence of another being bent on destroying it?


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for not updating in a while.

Danny and Maddie sat in awkward silence, waiting for Williams to come back. Maddie wanted to ask him everything that had ever puzzled her about him. _Why do you help people? _Do_ you help people? Do you feel emotions? Who were you calling? Why aren't you flying away? Why are you so concerned about that girl? Who were you before you died? Do you have a lair? Is your obsession fighting other ghosts, or something else? Why haven't we been able to track you? _Her train of thought trailed off. He was obviously nervous. This also perplexed Maddie. She broke the silence first.

"What are you so worried about?" He looked around, still disquieted by _something_.

"Well, when I stay in one place too long, usually a ghost-"He was suddenly cut off by a gasp of blue mist. He grinned sheepishly. "Like I said: a ghost attacks."

He flew through a window intangibly. Maddie rushed to the window, gaping outside like a girl trying to catch a glance of a tornado. All she saw was Danny sucking a mechanical ghost into a cylinder. He quickly flew back, the cylinder strung around his shoulders like a pack. He grinned again, like a child who had just won a game, exhilarated and slightly proud. His expression sobered when he caught sight of her gaping at him. He floated down like a kid caught in the cookie jar. Maddie was startled by this realization. _Just a kid, a little kid… _She then saw the look of intense gravity. _Not a kid, too… mature. _She was still caught up in this realization when he phased through the window.

"Who was that?" Maddie, by this time, had realized that the ghost boy was going to answer question, as long as she kept him talking.

His face lit up momentarily. "Just the Box Ghost. I could take him with two hands tied behind my back." His obvious pride troubled Maddie. _He sounds like a kid talking about his high score on a video game. _Her face hardened as she decided to stop beating around the bush.

"Is this all just a game to you?"

"_What?_" His expression was outraged. His eyes blazed even brighter. His fists curled up. "How dare you! I work my butt off to keep this town safe, and you think I'm _playing?_"

Maddie was shocked. She subconsciously leaned backward. _Was he going to hurt me?_

Just then, Williams walked in. He found them much differently than he had left them. Danny was furious, his hands giving off a dangerous glow, and Maddie was looking at him stunned. He coughed nervously to announce his presence. Danny calmed instantly, but Maddie was still looking at Danny suspiciously.

"Your husband is calling." He said to Maddie. She rolled her eyes. _Leave it to Jack to insert himself into anything ghost, even if he is miles away. _

Maddie left to take the call, and when she came back, Danny was gone. In his place was a short note.

_I'll leave the Box Ghost for you so that you have __someone__ to experiment on. _


End file.
